Art Posts

Avant-Garde Women: Review of the novel “Branded” by founding Dadaist Emmy Hennings

Jan 21, 2023 No Comments

Contents
-Introduction
-The Key to Dada
-Hennings on Language
-Hennings and Expressionism
-Hennings as a Burroughsian Beat
-Technology in Branded
-The Branded Playlist

Introduction

Just last year I pointedly wondered why the books of founding Dadaist Emmy Hennings remain untranslated into English after more than 100 years. I threatened to translate them myself even though I don’t know German. Thankfully, I caught wind of a forthcoming English edition of Hennings’ autobiographical novel, Branded (edited and translated by Katharine Rout). Since I demanded translations and one appeared, now I demand this book become a film. It is Hennings’ origin story, the often hilarious tale of a proto-Dadaist navigating contradiction, absurdity, and lies.

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Harry Welty raises the flag with latest snow sculpture

Jan 11, 2023 No Comments

Harry Welty lit up his latest snow sculpture on Wednesday, an homage to Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal’s image of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. You can read more about the famed photograph at pulitzer.org. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say the artistic statement being made is that America has been through a difficult time, yet the country, its people and flag endure.

The sculpture is clearly visible driving up 21st Avenue East, at 2101 E. Fourth St. Welty spoke with Perfect Duluth Day in 2016 and KDLH-TV the next winter about his ephemeral artwork.


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Duluth Waterfront Painting by Erna Ullrich

Jan 05, 2023 No Comments


Art

Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth MN

Jan 02, 2023 1 Comment

AI illustrator Stable Diffusion from the prompt “Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth, MN”


Art

Selective Focus: Clare Cooley

Dec 30, 2022 1 Comment

Clare Cooley is a multi-disciplinary artist and teacher whose career has spanned decades and coasts. Cooley emphasizes the healing nature of artistic and creative endeavors, whether that be teaching expressive dance classes, transforming a home into a sanctuary piece by piece, or sharing stories through written or visual art.

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Duluth Reimagined: Editing Photos with AI

Dec 26, 2022 1 Comment

Previously I posted some AI generated images that could plausibly be of Duluth but it was difficult to create images that were distinctly Duluth. The absurd specificity of Jim Richardson’s interactions with ChatGPT inspired me to try again but with a different process.

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Selective Focus: Heidi Feroe

Dec 22, 2022 No Comments
Heidi Feroe plays guitar at open mic night

Photo by Terry McCarthy

Heidi Feroe is a multimedia artist and member of the band Babie Eyes. In both her visual art and music, Feroe uses art as a vehicle to explore her identity and connect with community.

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Art

Selective Focus: Boubville 2022

Dec 16, 2022 No Comments

Ollie Morris (left) helped curate the tree (behind) that’s spoofing the one found at Bentleyville. (Photo by Jess Morgan)

Described as a “punk version of Bentleyville,” Boubville is a winter celebration centered around connection and play between artists as they imitate the light displays found the Bentlyville “Tour of Lights.” The event is also functioning as a fundraiser for the Embassy art collective. Despite the recent blizzard, Duluthians looking to connect and dance still made it over to the first night of Boubville.

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Seven AI-generated poems about Duluth, written by ChatGPT and illustrated by Dall-e 2

Dec 15, 2022 4 Comments

AI image prompt: a Japanese woodblock print of a large lake in a storm with a city on a tree covered hill in the background and seagulls in the sky

ChatGPT prompt: Write a haiku about Duluth

Duluth by the shore
The waves crash and the gulls cry
Nature’s symphony

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The Embassy presents Boubville

Dec 13, 2022 No Comments

Duluth’s finest art cult, the Embassy, is planning an unusual fundraiser. WDSE-TV‘s Julie Zenner and Dennis Anderson chat with Emily Koch and Zanta about the irreverent version of a holiday festival called Boubville in this Almanac North segment.


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Selective Focus: Mana Bear Bolton’s Paintings and Murals

Dec 09, 2022 No Comments

Mana Bear Bolton live painting on Tower Avenue in Superior in August 2021. (Photo by Jess Morgan)

Between colorful murals, acrylic paintings of beloved pets, playful watercolors and flow arts, Mana Bear has been making the Twin Ports region and beyond more beautiful for nearly a decade. Learn more about Mana’s work in the interview below.

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Chief Buffalo Memorial Mural: Art in This Present Moment

Dec 08, 2022 No Comments

The Chief Buffalo Memorial Mural in Duluth, led by artist Moira Villiard, visually tells the story of a community and the descendants of Chief Buffalo, remembered as a prominent figure that led the Anishinaabe to permanent resettlement in northern Minnesota. Started in 2019, this project also features work from other artists such as Michelle Defoe (Red Cliff Ojibwe), Awanigiizhik Bruce (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) and Sylvia Houle (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe).

Video via the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, a community foundation that serves all of Minnesota with nearly $2 billion in charitable assets for community good.


Art, Videos ,

Selective Focus: Murals and Art by Taylor Rose

Nov 20, 2022 No Comments

Taylor Rose has attended more than 100 art festivals and his murals can be found spread out in the Duluth area, througuout the United States and in Brazil. Working with a variety of mediums, he has been creating pieces since he “was old enough to hold a pencil,” starting out by drawing Pokémon and cartoons in the flavor of Calvin and Hobbes. He can be reached at rose_oner98 @ gmail.com, with his art found at divergingrosedesigns.com, on Instgram at both @rose_oner and @divergingrose, and on TikTok @drosedesigns. Rose occasionally accepts commissions, continuously seeking to do work he finds “inspiring and lets me have creative freedom.” His clothing, prints, stickers, canvas and more can be found for sale on his website. Below are words from a recent interview with Rose and some of his work.

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Jonathan Thunder on PBS

Nov 19, 2022 No Comments

 

Duluth’s Jonathan Thunder is the subject of a new short film airing nationally on PBS. Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology, directed by Sergio Mata’u Rapu, was selected by American Masters for national broadcast as part of the digital series In the Making. It will air in Duluth on WDSE-TV channel 8.1 on Tuesday, Nov. 22, following the broadcast of Buffy Sainte Marie: Carry it On. The programs occupy the 8 to 10 p.m. slot, so the Thunder feature will likely air after 9:30 p.m.

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Art, Videos

Congrats ARAC Grant Recipients

Sep 14, 2022 No Comments

The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council has announced its grant recipients from June to August. The full list of project descriptions is at aracouncil.org.

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